Advertising-display means.



H. S- SHAFER.

' ADVERTISING DISPLAY MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18. 1915.

Patented Apr. 4,1916.

HOWARD S. SHAFEE. OF NAZARETH, PENNSYLVANIA.

ADVERTISING-DISPLAY MEANS.

Application filed March 18, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD S. SHAFER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nazareth, in the county of Northampton and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Advertising-Display Means; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in advertising display apparatus and more par ticularly to card holders and the reversing mechanism therefor.

The object of the invention is to provide an advertising device for attachment to re versible vehicle seats, and which is so con structed that it will be automatically turned on the shifting of the seat-back in order that it will be always exhibited on the rear of the seat-back in position to be observed by the occupant of the seat in the rear of that carrying the card.

\Vith this and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, and the combination and arrangement of parts as will be more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 represents a rear elevation of a car seat equipped with this invention Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section thereof showing the seat back in operative position. Fig. 3 is a simi lar view showing the back shifted about midway the width of the seat and the parts of the advertising device in the position which they assume when the back is in this position. Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section showing the upper end of the actuating mechanism for the advertising device in the position in which it is disposed when the seat back is in normal position. Fig.5 is a detail perspective view of the shifting lever for the advertising device.

In the embodiment illustrated a car seat S of the usual construction is shown having a back B adapted to slide back and forth for reversing the seat when desired. Mounted on the upper edge of this back B are longitudinally spaced brackets l and 2 having bearings at their free upper ends in which is revolubly mounted a shaft 3 which extends longitudinally of said seat-back. As shown the bracket 1 is L-shaped in form and is se- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1, 1916. Serial No. 15,357.

cured to the upper edge of the seat-back B at a point spaced inwardly from one end thereof and the other bracket 2 is shown curved longitudinally to position the upper end having the bearing therein in substantial alinement with the inner end of the back B.

Depending from the shaft 3 is a card holder 4 which may be of any suitable or desired construction in which a plurality of cards C may be mounted with their advertising faces disposed outwardly and this holder is preferably constructed to receive in addition to the cards some transparent material such as celluloid or mica to prevent passengers or others from writing on the advertising cards.

A small gear wheel or pinion 5 is fixed to the inner end of the shaft 3 and extends beycnd the inner end of the seat-back into the space between it and the side of the car.

An operating lever 6 is fulcrumed inter mediately of its ends on the inner end edge of the seat-back B and is provided at its upper end with a T-shaped head 7 which is substantially inverted U-shaped in cross section with the cross bar 8 thereof provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures in the form of transversely disposed slots 9 which form a rack for engagement with the teeth of the pinion 5. This arm or head 7 is shown arcuate in form and the side walls 10 thereof are longitudinally slotted as shown at 11 to form guides in which the shaft 3 is designed to operate, the

pinion 5 being disposed between said walls and the inner end of the shaft which projects beyond said pinion being positioned in the slot of the outer wall of said head 7 so that when the seat-back B is shifted laterally back and forth, to reverse it, the shaft 3 carried thereby will travel in said slots 10 and the pinion 5 meshing with the rack formed by the slots 9 will be turned, thereby turning the shaft 3 and swinging the card holder 4 from one side to the other of the back according to the direction in which it is moved.

A keeper 12 is shown secured to the inner face of the side wall of the car opposite the seat S and is here shown in the form of a metal strip disposed transversely relative to the plane of the seat in a position above the plane of the seating face thereof. The ends of this strip 12 are offset inwardly and apertured to receive fastening elements end of the lever to be passed between them' and guided therein during the turning or shifting of the seat-back. It is well known that when seat-backs of this character are reversed, they travel in an arcuate path, and this arrangement of the keeper for receiving the free end of the lever 6 provides for this movement and adapts the lever to move with the seat-back until one edge thereof contacts with one end of the keeper, whereupon said lever 6 and the upper end of said lever carrying the rack formed of the slots 9 will move relatively to the shaft 1, thereby causing the pinion 5 to rotate sufficiently by its engagement with the slots 9 in the head 7 to turn the shaft 3 a partial revolution andthus cause the card holder 4 to'swing from one side of the seat-back to the other to position it with one of its advertising faces disposed for inspection by the occupantsof the rear seats.

From the above description, it will be obvious that the shifting of the seat-back will cause the card holder to automatically turn over and expose first the card holder on one side thereof and alternately the card on the other side, and that this card may contain any desired form of advertising or other matterwhich it is desired to bring to the attention of the occupants of the vehicle.

While the device has been shown and described in connection with a reversible seatback of a car, it is obvious that it may be employed on shiftable seats of any conveyance. 7

From the foregoing description, it will also be obvious that by fulcruming the lever on the seat-back itself with its free end dis posed in the keeper 12, the advertising card will not begin to swing over at the first movement of the seat, but will swing upwardly and into the position shown in Fig. 3 when the back B has reached a point about midway the width of the seat S so that the turning of the card will occur after the back has been partially moved, before it reaches its final position to avoid any possibility of said card coming in contact with Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing' the Commissioner of Patents,'

gear, said lever being slotted for the pas- V sage of the gear carrying shaft.

2. A shiftable seat back havinglongitudinally spaced bearings on'its upper edge,

a shaft revolubly mounted in said bearings,

a display device fixed on said shaft, a gear fixed to said shaft and extending" beyond the end of said seat back, an operating lever pivotally mounted intermediately of its ends on the end edge of said seat back, a laterally extending rack at one end of said lever p0 sitioned for engagement with said gear,

means for retaining said rack and gear in operative engagement, a fixed member disposed adjacent said end of the seat back on which said lever is mounted, and a keeper on said fixed member to receive the free end of said lever.

3. The combination with a shiftable support, of a shaft revolubly'mounted on said support, a gear fixed to said shaft, a dis play memberfixed to said shaft, an operating lever pivotally mounted on said shiftable support and having a T-shaped head at one end substantially inverted U-shaped in cross section, said head being arcuate in form and the side walls thereof longitudinally slotted for the passage of said shaft, the'gearon said shaft being disposed between said walls, the wall connecting'said side walls being provided w'ith longitudi nally spaced apertures forming a rack for the teeth of said gear.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses. I y HOWARD S. SHAFER.

Witnesses JACOB W. B CK, WILSON E. BECK.-

Washington, D. C.v 

